Sweden gay
We’re here, we’re gender non-conforming, and it’s just so damn normal
Sweden, where being gender non-conforming is just. so. damn. normal.
Before I came to analyze in Sweden, I had heard it was the world’s Gay mecca, and yes, that’s same-sex attracted with a capital G. The place where the queers can come as they are and do as they please. I fantasized that Sweden paved its roads with rainbows and that everyday would touch like a Identity Parade.
However, now having lived and loved for a year as a gender non-conforming woman in Sweden, in my encounter, I have learned that Sweden is in fact the queer utopia I heard about, but not in all the ways I dreamed or imagined. The magic did not come from the overt, over-the-top colors of Lgbtq+ fest (though you can find Pride flags flying all over Sweden), or the wild nightlife scene (also something you can find), but rather, quite the opposite.
For me*, I have found that being queer in Sweden is rather normal. Really normal. So normal that you even initiate to feel appreciate you are just another hetero walking down the route, hand-in-hand with your hetero partner- but you’re not, you’re a queer person walking hand-in-hand with your queer significant other, and that’s totally normal. But people don’t treat you any differen
The LGBTQ+ guide to Stockholm
Publish date: 28 March 2025
In Stockholm, you are free to state yourself and love whomever you choose. Welcome to a vibrant and LGBT-friendly capital.
Gay and female homosexual life in Stockholm is love the city itself: easily reachable, hugely fun, highly varied, heated, and welcoming. Over the years, Stockholm has emerged as one of the world’s favorite LGTBQ+ destinations, winning awards and topping Where to go-lists across the planet.
Want to find LGBTQ+ -friendly restaurants and bars?Check out our guide here!
Looking for The Queer clubs and events?See what's coming up in our guide!
Stockholm Celebration is the biggest LGBTQ+ event of the year. Read more aboutthis year's festival in our guide.
Want LGBTQ-travel tips? Check outStockholmLGBTfor more inspiration, and LGBTQ+ highlights!
LGBTQ+ Progress in Sweden
- 1944 Homosexual relationships are legalized
- 1972 Sweden becomes the first country in the nature to legally allow gender change
- 1979 The National Board of Health and Welfare (Socialstyrelsen) decides homosexuality is no longer a mental disorder
- 1987 Ban on discrimination ag
Sweden
Experiencing Swedish Food
LINGONBERRIES
Lingonberry jam is a sweet condiment made to accompany a variety of different foods, from meatballs to pancakes to porridge. It’s one of Sweden’s traditional foods that evokes childhood nostalgia as many young Swedes expand up picking berries in the forest throughout the summer months.
PICKLED HERRING
Pickled herring is a favorite due to the abundance of herring in both the North and Baltic seas. With roots back to the Middle Ages, Swedes have been pickling herring for generations as a way of preserving the fish for storage and transportation. Pickled herring comes in a variety of flavors—mustard, onion, garlic and dill, to name a few. The bold flavors pair well with many of the other traditional Swedish favorites like boiled potatoes, sour cream, chopped chives and sharp difficult cheese.
SWEDISH MEATBALLS
Pro tip: Swedes don’t love when you reference the IKEA-cafeteria version of their beloved classic. But you can detect delicious meatballs at a variety of restaurants all around the country. According to Visit Sweden,”In their most traditional form, Swedish meatballs (köttbullar) are made of
Marriage in Sweden
LGBTQI FactsRFSLPhoto: Mathilda Piehl
Since 2009 Sweden has a gender neutral marriage legislation, which means that same sex couples can obtain married under the same conditions as opposite sex couples. As a foreign citizen without residency in Sweden you can, in some cases, also receive married in Sweden.
Requirements and procedures when getting married
You don’t have to inhabit (have residency) in Sweden or include a Swedish citizenship to get married in Sweden. If neither of the two have Swedish citizenship or residency in Sweden, they need have residency (or one hold citizenship and the other one own residency) in a country where same sex partnership or marriage is legal.
Inquiry into impediments to marriage
Before a couple can marry, the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) must conduct an inquiry into impediments of marriage (hindersprövning). The couple must file a written request to the Swedish Tax Agency. Application forms, unfortunately only in Swedish, can be set up at the Agency’s website.
According to Swedish law, the following are considered impediments to marriage:
- being under the age of 18 (the County Administrative Board